We were on the May 31st cruise - Our traveling party consisted of DH, DD (8), DS(4) and my brother who is an amputee ~ below are my reviews (we booked only our Juneau excursions through Disney):
Skagway ~ We did a private tour with Becky of
"Beyond Skagway" (
http://beyondskagwaytours.com). I found her through Dyea Dave Tours. She used to work solely on his tour but has since branched out (with Dave's support) to give more exclusive/private tours for up to 6 adults and 1 child in her Extended SUV. We did a 7 hour tour with a lunch break.
Becky picked us up from the port at 745am (she likes to get a start earlier so as to avoid the tour buses, etc. that snake up the way to the Yukon an hour or so later). We took a 1.5-2 hour trip up into the Yukon and over into BC, Canada to visit some husky puppies. The weather was dreary for the first part of the day but cleared up later on. On the way over to BC, Canada we stopped on the side of the road to watch a black bear (about 6 feet from the car) grazing. It was pretty neat to get that close without distrubing it.
We went to see the husky puppies and decided to have lunch at the place instead of our original plans of hiking down to a lake because it was still raining. After lunch we went into BC, Canada a little more taking in more sites. We also stopped at Carcross on our way back to the ship and did a quick walk on the beach.
Finally, Becky had a "secret" spot that she likes to hike in Canada that she says know one she knows (out of the 832 residents in Skagway) is aware of this location. It was pretty easy .75 mile hike for my brother with his prostetic and my daughter enjoyed it quite a bit. By this time it had cleared up quite a bit and the opening spot at the end of the hike allowed for beautiful views of the mountains (snow-capped) and the river running right next to us.
All in all it was a great excursion. It was very personalized to what we wanted to do (and most of it we were very casual about where/when to go). She was GREAT with the kids and my daughter now wants to go back and work with Becky in the summer giving tours (LOL).
Juneau ~ DH, DS and my brother did the
"Best of Juneau". While my husband says it was ok he would not go on the excursion again. He recommends it is good for people who like to take things slow, have smaller children, etc. They did see a pod of Orca's while on the boat portion - but that was the only "highlight" of the trip for him/brother.
DD and I did the
"Disney Exclusive Dog Musher for a Day". This, by far, was the excursion of a lifetime. We met with the excursion folks (after Disney passed us on to the proper people) and filled out the proper paperwork which consisted of release forms and age/weight forms (to balance out the helicopter ride). There were only 10 of us on the trip ~ I later learned that we are the ONLY excursion (i.e. Disney) that does this type of trip and only 10 folks MAX per day (all through Disney).
After a quick trip via small bus/transport to the helicopter location (ERA) we were given a brief overview on helicopter safety. We were also outfitted with "glacier boots". Within 30 minutes of arriving at the helicopter location we were off in the helicopter. There were 5 of us (all women) in the helicopter. It was a 15-20 minute flight with beautiful views. I was in the back seat with a window view with my daughter next to me (they change the seating on the way back to give everyone a chance to have a window seat, etc.).
There were 4 helicopters that took off and landing within seconds from each other (that was a pretty cool thing to see as well). Two of the helicopters had folks from Disney that were doing the Disney Musher for a Day and the other two helicopters had folks that were doing the "regular" dog sledding.
After getting to the glacier (I believe it was the Norris glacier) the groups were split up (i.e. Disney Musher, Regular Dog sledding) and given our overviews as they were different itineraries. Within the 10 folks from Disney we were split into 3 different groups - generally along traveling party/family. DD and I had Nancy as our Sled guide. After meeting Nancy and her removing a dog from the harness (since it was just two of us on the sled with Nancy she stated we didn't need that many dogs).
We took off soon after meeting Nancy on our first mushing portion. We only made a stop or two but we could talk the entire time while mushing (she did the driving on the first part while we chatted). The second time we stopped for a minute or so she asked my daughter if she wanted to get up and stand on the sled with her and help mush. My daughter jumped at the chance. After about a 25 minute mush we ended up away from the camp at a few seperate tents. We got off the sled and had lunch with our dog mushers (and it was a very good lunch). We got about 30 minutes to eat and tak more with the dog mushers. This is where I found out they were as excited as us to do the Disney exclusive excursion as they had never offered this type before (i.e. mushing for the time frame we did and lunch on the glacier with us "regular" folks).
After lunch, we helped harness our sled team for the final leg of mushing. Both my daughter and I helped put the harnesses on as well as the booties they were to protect their feet. My daughter jumped at the chance to once again stand with Nancy to do the mushing. Half-way through the second portion of the mushing we stopped and Nancy offered I a chance to stand on the second sled (they have a second smaller sled for folks to stand and "drive" the team). So for the last 1/2 of our mushing on the way back to camp both my DD and I were able to stand on the sleds with Nancy (we also helped brake when needed, etc.).
After saying goodbye to your musher and dogs (throughout the entire experience we got to learn more about the dogs and my daughter got to pet them for as long as she wanted). Another worker at the camp comes over and gives you a quick tour of the camp and provides information about the day-to-day operations. 5 minutes before the helicopters come back they let everyone know to make their way back to the landing area to be taken back.
After loading up in the helicopter and another 15-20 minute ride back to the helicopter location we removed our gear and hoped onboard the vehicle to get back to the boat.
I just wanted to recap this portion of all the excursions as we truly did love it. It really was a once in a lifetime experience.
Ketchikan ~ I had prebooked the Orca's Cove Kayaking trip with
"Southeast Sea Kayaks" for everyone in my family/brother EXCEPT my son. We didn't feel he was mature enough to go on this excursion.
After disembarking we located the "Southeast Sea Kayaks" White van and we were on our way to the excursion location (it was less than a 5 minute drive - we probably could have walked it but it was nice that they picked you up). After getting outfitted with our Kayaking gear minus kayak and paddle we hopped onboard a little scuttle boat. After a 20 minute trip out to the cove we transferred to the bigger boat which had the guides aboard and kayak's attached.
My brother and the guide ended up in one kayak and DH, DD and I ended up in another kayak. The guide took us to the various inlets of the cove and we saw an abudance of undersea creatures - tons of starfish, jellyfish, etc. At one point, in a cove that during low tide has no water but during the high tide were were there (was 15 feet of water) a seal popped his head up a few times.
After our several hour kayak adventure we ended up back a the larger boat for a snack. They had salmon, crackers, cheese, fruit and water. We got to snack for about 20 minutes before the little transfer boat came back for us. After another 20 minute ride back to the kayaking location back near the dock, and another transfer by van, we were back at the dock.
This was a pretty neat excursion that we all enjoyed. You could go at an agressive pace if you wanted to our a leisurely pace. The tour guide was AWESOME!!!
If anyone has any questions let me know.
. You learn to pan for gold, and take home a little baggie with some flakes in it. There's free hot cider and cookies for a snack. There are tents set up to represent what it looked like, and a short show with singing and poetry. I think DD's favorite part was the camp dogs. Bring money or credit cards for the gift shop. 
The Red Onion Saloon and brothel museum was the highlight - you got a free glass of beer/wine/rootbeer, then got a 15 min guided tour. They had a lot of artifacts! Overall, a fun tour, but personally I don't think it was the worth the money and would have been much improved if the train was before the bus. 
